The Red String of Fate
by Evra7
Summary: Dimitri wakes up to a pleasant surprise. Dimitri is surprised by an innocent lingerie set in Victoria's Secret. Outtakes from The Red String from Dimitri's point of view.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up comfortably. Well, except for the slight hangover I had. I held something warm and small in my arms, and I tried to stay asleep, because surely this was a dream. I wondered who I would be dreaming of holding, opening my eyes in curiosity.

I gasped. It was Roza. She looked so beautiful, even though there was the smallest wrinkle present between her eyebrows. I wanted to smooth it down, but thought better of it.

How had she gotten here?

The faint sunlight that was shining into the room hit her hair, making it appear as if there were a halo of light surrounding her. I nearly snorted. Roza was certainly no angel. She may have been young, but she was definitely not innocent by any means.

I realized that it must have been reasonably late, considering the fading sun.

It was Monday. Rose needed to get to class.

I needed to wake her, no matter how much I detested it.

"Rose," I said. She didn't budge. This girl slept like the dead. "Rose," I said again, shaking her gently. I would hate to hurt her by gripping too strongly onto her.

She finally opened her eyes blearily, adorably.

"You need to get back to your room," I told her.

She nodded, sitting up. She ambled out of bed, going towards the bathroom.

That was when I realized that she was wearing my shirt. Roza was wearing my shirt. And nothing else except a pair of black panties.

Did she realize how tempting she was?

I stood there frozen for a few more seconds before I heard the flush of the toilet and the running of the faucet.

I tried to make it look like I was busy.

I moved the giant pink princess dress that I vaguely remembered Rose wearing the night before. _Why had she been wearing a princess dress?_

She came out of the bathroom, looking worried.

"Why did you stay the night last night?" I asked her curiously, and perhaps a little gruffly. We could get in so much trouble if she was caught coming into my room. Well, she wouldn't be in any trouble. People would feel sorry for her- taken advantage of by a dhampir. A much older dhampir whom she had trusted to guard her with his life.

She would maybe be looked down upon by her peers.

I, on the other hand, would be fired. Possibly prosecuted. Most definitely disgraced. My life would be over.

There was something about Rose, though, that made me adore her. I had always wanted to protect Moroi life, but I felt that I would do anything to protect Roza. Whether it be physically or emotionally.

Her words drew me out of my thoughts. "I fell asleep," she answered simply.

I shot her a look, eyeing my shirt. My gaze lingered fleetingly on her panties before traveling back to her face. "In my shirt?" I asked.

"Okay," she began. I readied myself for a Rose-styled lecture. "So I hated that dress, Dimitri. And I was tired, so I decided, since you had fallen asleep, I might as well not risk another trek across campus."

She frowned briefly, and I noticed that sometime during the last few moments she had placed her hands on her hips sternly.

"You were right about money not being able to cover up all my crimes. And so," she drew a final breath. "I just went to sleep."

"Next to me," I said, puzzled. She could have made me sleep on the floor. I would have done it for her. I would have gladly slept on the floor every night for her.

"Next to you," she agreed.

She gave me an odd, appraising look. It was almost as if she was attempting to stare into my soul.

I decided to change the subject before I got us into trouble. Before I did anything dishonorable, such as attempting to kiss her, or even just hold her in my arms.

"I'll walk you to your dorm," I told her, leaving no room for arguments. "Do you want any breakfast before we leave? I don't think we'll be able to make training, now."

A hungry look crossed her face, and I knew that she would definitely be staying for breakfast.

"What do you have?" she asked, licking her lips a little. I didn't know if she realized that she had done it or not.

I thought through a list of all the ingredients I had in my kitchen area.

"I have bliny," I said. Did she even know what bliny was?

She thought for a moment before saying, "Well, sure."

Then, abruptly, she changed the subject. "Does your head hurt at all? I could get you some ibuprofen or something; I have some in my purse."

It was against the rules for students to have personal medications with them. They were supposed to keep them with the nurse. "Why do you have ibuprofen in your purse?"

She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "In case someone has cramps. You don't understand how much cramps suck, Comrade." I did not want to talk about _cramps. _Thankfully, she didn't seem to, either. "Anyways, you didn't answer my question. Do you need some ibuprofen?"

She sure was pushy this morning.

I shook my head no. "I wasn't drunk last night," I defended. "Just a little…"

"Tipsy?" she guessed.

"Buzzed," I corrected, though I didn't know if that was the correct slang word.

"If you're okay, then get to making that bliny!" she said.

I knew that she was only partially joking, so I immediately set to my task. I didn't do this without saluting her first, of course.

I tried to remember the previous night as I cooked, but my memories were mostly fuzzy.

I remembered spending most of the day trying to avoid thinking of what day it was. I read a book, listened to music, and even polished my favorite silver stake.

_By dinner time, I had run out of things to do. And that was when I had pulled out the Russian vodka. It wasn't the most responsible thing to do, for sure. I hadn't drank since right after Ivan's death. I had forbidden myself from it, knowing that I was even more prone to wallowing when drunk._

_But I figured that maybe, this time it would make me forget._

_The first couple shots were like gasoline._

_After that, I was completely used to, and enjoying, the vodka._

_A knock sounded through the door. I looked at the clock. It was late. After curfew._

_Maybe a fellow guardian needed help breaking up a party in one of the dorms. _

_I turned the knob, opening the door._

_Instead of Guardian Petrov or Guardian Alto, I found Roza._

_Roza, who was wearing a giant princess dress. A pink dress. I had never seen her in pink before, but it looked just as good as any other color on her._

_As much as I wished I was, I wasn't completely drunk. I knew that I couldn't kiss her. _

_I also couldn't let her know that I was still upset about my last charge, and his death._

_It was my fault. I shouldn't have taken time off. I should have stayed with him._

_I could still see his pale face, frozen in shock. The dried blood on his neck, dripping onto his jacket. _

"_Rose?" I asked, pushing the memory as far back as I could._

_Was something wrong? Was she hurt? Did she need something?_

"_Hey Comrade," she said cheerfully. Her smile almost lit up the room, but for once it didn't make me want to smile. The memory of Ivan's death was too fresh in my mind. "I just wanted to come by and say happy Halloween!"_

_She was here for a personal reason?_

_What if someone saw? I couldn't handle her getting into trouble._

"_Rose," I began. "You're supposed to be in your room. Not only are you forbidden from social activities, but it's also after curfew." I ranted for a while, not even listening to my own lecture._

"_It's not like I'd get kicked out anyways," she said. She was frowning now. I'd made her upset. "Somebody paid for me to stay here, so here I will stay."_

_I shook my head. "Money can only cover up so many grievances."_

_She gave me a look. I didn't see it very often, but when I did, I knew that she was peering into my soul._

"_Is something wrong?" How could she always guess when I was upset?_

"_No," I quickly lied. _

"_Are you sure, Dimitri?" she asked. I knew she was serious when she called me by my given name, instead of Comrade. "Dimka?" she asked._

_I felt my eyes snap wide open. She had never called me Dimka before. Only my family and Tasha called me Dimka. I couldn't deny, I liked the sound of it coming out of her mouth._

_Ivan had called me Dimka, too. Ivan, who was dead. Would I have died with him if I had been on duty?_

"_You can tell me," she said gently. "You told me I can tell you anything, and I'm returning the favor."_

_I didn't understand how she could be so brash and rough and blunt around some people, and completely soft and beautiful and gentle around others. Mostly just Princess Dragomir, and sometimes me._

_She kicked off her shoes and took a seat on my bed._

_She motioned for me to sit next to her. I decided I might as well. Apparently, we'd crossed conventional guardian-charge lines a long time ago._

"_Is it about your old charge?" she asked._

_I looked at her._

"_Ivan?" she asked, recalling his name._

_I wondered how many times I'd mentioned him. How could she have possibly guessed?_

"_Today's the year anniversary of when he was killed," I said quietly._

_Something akin to pity and sadness crossed her beautiful face. "Oh, Dimitri," she whispered. She gathered me into her arms, and I didn't have the energy to resist her touch. She began to rub my back._

"_It's not your fault," she insisted. "I know you would rather die than let your charge down. As much as I would hate for you to lay your life down for mine, I know you would do it, if you were forced. I have so much faith in you."_

_Her words made me relax infinitesimally. She continued to rub my back, and I eventually fell asleep. No nightmares haunted me tonight._

"Hey," Rose said, stirring me out of my recovered memories. "The queen is coming tonight, isn't she?"

I nodded, continuing to cook Roza's breakfast.


	2. Victoria's Secret

"You're late, Rose," I told her as she reached us.

I should have known she would be late when I'd sent her off to nap.

Predictably, Rose rolled her eyes. "Sorry. It takes _time _to look this good." By the end of her sentence, I could tell she was joking. The smirk on her face said it all.

My first impulse was to smile at her, but instead I just shook my head. She clambered into the van, and I followed her closely.

Guardian Speridon sat on my other side. He was one of Prince Victor Dashkov's guardians. I was confused about why the Prince only had one of his guardians present, but didn't bring it up because Princess Dragomir didn't have any guardians specifically sanctioned for her while we were out, either.

It _was_ strange. As the last of the royal line, she should have been more protected than Prince Victor.

Rose seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because she questioned me about Guardian Alto's presence.

"He's here because the Princess and Camille don't have sanctioned guardians yet. Camille would normally be under the protection of her family guardians, but since she's at school, they aren't available," I explained.

She nodded her head in understanding. "And you're here because you're my sanctioned guardian."

"Yes," I agreed.

"It's odd that you have a guardian and the princess doesn't," Guardian Speridon stated.

It was very odd. It wasn't that I didn't like being Roza's guardian. _Rose, _I told myself. _Her name is Rose. Not Roza. _It was just odd that she had a guardian before she was out of school. Her mother was rather high-ranking and important to the Moroi court, so that could explain why a common Moroi would have someone to protect her.

Strigoi would be itching to latch onto Janine Hathaway's secrets. I didn't know exactly what she did, but I did know that it was important and highly classified. Rose certainly didn't seem to know what her mother did for a living.

Rose also didn't seem to like her mother. I supposed that she felt abandoned. I could understand that. She tried to act like it didn't bother her, but every time her mother was brought up, she got this look on her face. It was the look of someone who was tired of being ignored.

As terrible as it had been to have my father in and out of my life during my childhood, I couldn't imagine how it felt to grow up without not really knowing either of your parents. It was difficult to grasp the fact that Rose had lived most of her life without having someone like my mother in her life.

I turned to glance at her, studying her.

She was in her own world, her unfocused eyes glued to the Princess and Miss Conta. I could tell with just one look at her dark eyes that she was thinking hard about something. Her mouth, usually in a pout or grinning slyly, was set in a firm line. There was a crease between her eyebrows, a wrinkle present on her nose.

I wanted to move to ease the tension in her face, but knew it would be completely inappropriate to do so.

Despite being a Moroi, Rose was strong. Not so much in body as in mind and spirit. Sometimes, when I looked at her, I could see something on her face. Something that said that she knew more than she portrayed, that she knew more about life and death than anyone. She'd grown into her own person beautifully, despite the fact that she'd practically been raised at St. Vladimir's.

I didn't know if she even knew her own strength.

Sometimes, I thought that she only saw herself as the best friend of the last Dragomir, or as a wild spirit that couldn't be controlled. She didn't see what I saw, certainly.

She turned back to look at me again, and finally looked away. I hadn't realized that I had been staring.

The car ride went on for what seemed like eternity, but was really only about four hours. Rose didn't say much for the whole ride, something that was out of character for her.

She seemed content to allow the Princess, Miss Dashkov, and Miss Conta to do all the talking for once.

When we arrived at the Southgate Mall, the Moroi students were bouncing about excitedly. Prince Dashkov, however, only looked on in amusement as he hobbled out of the van.

I scanned the building as we walked towards it, noting the row we were in, the closest exit out of the mall, and the easiest way to leave the parking lot.

It was quite modern looking, the entire structure. The entrance we were using announced exactly which mall we were visiting in big white letters, connected to a hulking silver arch above the doorway. Immaculate park benches and very lush looking shrubbery were placed just so around the area. Flowering trees were placed next to a small dark fountain, in front of the patio of a restaurant.

It was rather high-end looking, actually. A few feet back from the students, Guardian Alto and I entered a few seconds later. The inside was just as high-end and immaculate as the outside. The floors were made of large, glossy tiles that appeared to be perhaps granite, or a linoleum imposter.

The interior was decorated in warm colors, giving it an almost homie feel, while reminding you that you were there to spend your money.

We followed the girls around the mall, breaking into groups. Guardian Alto and Guardian Speridon followed the Dashkovs and Miss Conta while I, very discreetly, followed Princess Dragomir and Rose.

Princess Dragomir found an excuse to go to every store. I hadn't realized this before, but the girl appeared to be some sort of shopping fiend. She even ended up buying a silver spoon that she had spent a good ten minutes admiring.

Rose finally managed to get her out of the store before being dragged into Victoria's Secret. Personally, I did not want to enter this store. In fact, I avoided this store like the plague. I had no reason to venture in there, and no reason to subject myself to such awkwardness. The only time men would be caught dead there was usually if they were buying something for their significant other, something I definitely did not possess.

As much as I cringed when walking into the store, I was thankful for a chance to buy the lip gloss that Rose had been complaining about running out of. I tried to remember what the tube of lip gloss had looked like when she'd taken it out on various occasions.

I finally located what I hoped was the right lip gloss, checking on Rose and Lissa quickly. They were examining a pair of running shorts that I had a feeling Rose would be wearing to training soon. I groaned a little, dreading the temptation those shorts would bring me.

I turned towards the register, scratching my head awkwardly as the cashier rang up my purchase.

"Shopping for your girlfriend?" she fished.

Rose would never be my girlfriend, but it would sound strange if I admitted that I had bought lip gloss for my student.

"Yes," I said.

Her face dropped a little, and I couldn't bring myself to feel bad.

I was really mostly listening in on Rose and the Princess' conversation, making sure they were safe. There wasn't much threat of Strigoi attack in broad daylight, but it didn't hurt to be safe. Human assailants were always a worry, too.

The Princess was practically yelling, rather excitedly, "And look at this lingerie set! It would look so good on you."

_Don't look, Dimitri._

There were a few seconds of silence on Rose's part before the Princess said, "You could wear it in the future."

"That is the most sexual thing I've ever heard you say," Rose scoffed.

Yes, the notion of Rose buying lingerie was completely ridiculous, and she seemed to agree. No one should see her in those types of outfits.

"I see the look in your eyes!" Princess Dragomir crowed. "I'm buying it!"

Rose's voice suddenly matched that of the Princess. "No!" she shouted. She quieted her voice a little. "I don't have any use for it, Lissa."

No, not if I had any say in it. I shuddered, remembering when I had walked in on Rose and Jesse Zeklos in that abandoned lounge. It had eaten me up inside to see her in that situation. It had especially eaten me up when I had seen what he was doing to her; sucking on her breast. He had no right to touch her breasts, let alone put his mouth there.

I thought of all this while I began to walk towards the two girls, disregarding the strange look the clerk had been giving me for the last minute or so.

"You can just wear it to bed to feel pretty," the Princess continued softly. "I'm buying it, and that's final."

"Everything alright, Rose? Princess?" I asked, avoiding looking at the offending garment.

"Everything is perfectly fine, Guardian Belikov. I'm just trying to talk some sense into Rose."

Sense? How was that sense? Pressuring your friend into buying something she wouldn't feel comfortable wearing, nor any use for?

Speaking of what Rose wouldn't ever have a chance of wearing in front of anyone, if it were up to me, I could no longer resist a glance at the lingerie in question.

It was dark red, something that would match Rose's coloring and personality quite well. It was a lacy thing, mostly sheer. Thin straps were meant to hold up the garment, though I didn't think the intent was meant much for support. Down the middle, the material split, creating a gap. And the panties, they were just the same. They were just as sheer, just as sexy as the top. They were tiny, they would barely cover anything.

I couldn't help picturing it on Rose.

I tried to stop the image from forming in my mind, but my control was suddenly quite lacking.

It would be beautiful on her. Sexy. I imagined her standing in front of me, wearing it. I imagined as she walked towards me, her long dark hair billowing the slightest bit behind her. In my vision, she was biting her lip a little nervously, but then she would smile.

It was one of _those _smiles. One of her what I liked to call, man-eater smiles.

I imagined myself taking it off slowly, lovingly, excitedly.

Her lips connecting with mine, my hands buried in her hair- _no._

I realized that I had been fantasizing about my charge. I had been fantasizing about my underage charge, who looked up to me and trusted me immensely. Rose, my Rose.

I realized that Rose was staring at me, blushing just as much as I was.

Was she embarrassed to have me near such an article of clothing that she soon would own? Was she worried that I was fantasizing about her when I saw it? Or, was she fantasizing about me taking the article off of her, too?

"Uh," I stuttered, attempting to regain my composure.

The Princess ended the awkward moment. "It's the last one, and in your size, Rose. I think it would look good on you."

It would look amazing on her, the picture of her in my imagination playing out like a movie once again.

I swallowed thickly, willing myself not to imagine anything more, lest anything _awkward happen in front of two teenagers, in public, no less._

"I'm not taking no for an answer," Princess Dragomir ordered. She grabbed the lingerie and the shorts, which previously I had thought would bring the most trouble out of all her wardrobe, and walked hastily towards the checkout counter.

Now it was just Roza and I.

We stared at each other for a few moments, neither knowing what to say or do. The tension between us was palpable, and I had never quite noticed it before today. Not in these amounts, anyway.

I noticed that she was looking towards the entrance of the store. I followed her gaze, recognizing the other group had tracked us down.

How careless of me. How embarrassing.

"I guess it's time for lunch," Rose commented lightly.

I nodded, still trying to shake the image of her from my mind. I had a feeling, however, that it would haunt me for nights to come. _Drisnya._


End file.
